It is becoming increasingly easier for me to write in bullet points.
Let's I.D. the Maranao, shall we?
I have a lot of friends from different countries, all of whom have never even heard of the Maranao. They know I'm from the Philippines, therefore I'm Filipino, therefore I speak Tagalog and some form of funny-ish English, therefore I'm from Manila, therefore I eat dog meat for fun.
Oi vei.
I'm going to ignore the fact that those are painfully cliche stereotypes (fine, there's some truth in them, but still).
Maranaos are from Lanao, which can be found in Mindanao, the Southern part of the Philippines. Their culture is more Malay-influenced than Hispanic.
For more boring-type history, geography and whatever else information that needs to be authentic, click here.
Instead of telling you what a Maranao is, let's start with what a Maranao is NOT.
1. We're not big on karaoke. We don't have the latest karaoke technology surround-sound froucaca in our living rooms. Frank Sinatra's "My Way" is in fact, NOT our national anthem.
Ok, fine, maybe I have a karaoke machine in my room that has at least 7,000 songs, and I can sing My Way 10 different ways including the P. Diddy remix. But that's beside the point.
Here in Jeddah, it's a given. "You're Filipino? KARAOKE!!" (I think this happens everywhere, except Manila.)
Yeah, no. It's the other Filipinos that are into that.
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2. We don't really have that P / F problem. We don't say Farty when we mean Party. We have our letter P down. It's probably because F is really not part of our alphabet/language.
Yeah! *fist bump*
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3. Our culture is a lot like the Saudi one. If it's taboo for the Saudis, it's taboo for the Maranaos.
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4. Yeah, we DON'T eat dog meat. Or snake. Or animal intestines. Those are popular pulutan dishes, to be consumed with alcohol. We don't drink zee Alcohol. Cough.
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... to be continued.
In the meantime, maybe the Maranao readers have something to add.
14 comments:
We don't wear too much jewelry at weddings, tee hee...
Here's a question. Are we Filipinos??=D
Maranao value education a lot... I guess?
One thing peculiar about Maranao is everyone seems to know everyone else.
I once hear that the difference between the Maranao, Tausug, and Maguindanao are the way they settle in outside of their provinces. What's the first thing they do?
Maguindanaoans usually build a restaurant since they like fine dining and coffee...
Tausug usually build trading shops they like export and import...
Maranao usually build a mosque because they want every other Maranao to colonize the place....
I don't know if its true but looking at Quiapo, Baclaran, Cebu, Davao and some other places in the Philippines. There seems to be a kernel of truth to it....
Toie:
Haha, no we don't, do we?
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Jehanifah:
Yes, you're right. I should rename this post to
"Reasons Why We Are NOT Filipinos"
haha.
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Akram:
You may be right! Although we don't have any Maranao-established mosques here in Jeddah.
And yes, all Maranaos know each other and find a way to be related! :D
the maranao: uh-oh...there ARE Maranao-established mosques in Jeddah!!! i can't believe you don't know that...the mosque near that maranao dude who has that islamic bookstore (who i think is our relative). there is another mosque in the Safa area, in the industrial City part. there are many more. so i think i'd agree with AKRAM on that one.
Well for obvious reason Maranao can't establish a mosque in Jeddah because almost every block have a mosque. It's a Muslim country remember... :p
re: toie's comment.
actually, most of us do wear a LOT of jewelry, not just in weddings, but everywhere. hehehe:)
re: akram's comment.
that's right. there's not a place with a meranao community, no matter how small, that does not have a masjid. oh, and as soon as you mention your family name, people know which municipality you are from. :)
hehehehehe...true, true.
@BabyPink
Yes, this is true. All families know each other. For a time in the past, I didn't bother with these things, but now I think it's imperative that we still know who's who. For recording purposes. ;D
BTW, any idea how many Maranaos there are?
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@coralbead
Thank you for reading! You rock!
Oi, addition. Maranaos may not be karaoke freaks, but many are becoming videoke zombies. Even the old folks will fork down 5 bucks just to sing matt monro or eddie peregrina tunes (ewwww..)
re: All families know each other.
perhaps because we have preserved our Salsila, therefore, once you mentioned your family name then a fellow Mranao would already know what part of Ranao you're from. Would even trace how you are related. Tingin ko nga everybody here is related to one another. I often hear my Mom say "Ei ka lolot tano si giraw ka wata e giraw manaya..blah blah..." :D
re: All families know each other.
perhaps because we have preserved our Salsila, therefore, once you mentioned your family name then a fellow Mranao would already know what part of Ranao you're from. Would even trace how you are related. Tingin ko nga everybody here is related to one another. I often hear my Mom say "Ei ka lolot tano si giraw ka wata e giraw manaya..blah blah..." :D
CORALBEAD:
Yes, you're right. More and more Maranaos are getting into the karaoke groove.
AI:
I agree with you. It might also have a lot to do with our clannish culture. Maranaos tend to "keep it in the family", and we are in fact, a small population. Each family has maybe a gazillion kids, that's why there seems to be a lot of us. Haha.
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